In our July update, we observed that the U.S. economy appeared to be in the middle stage of an expansion. Nothing in the last four weeks has happened to dramatically change that outlook on the domestic front. We were a little disappointed with June’s retail sales growth of just .2%, but think it will rebound in the months ahead. Strong average monthly job growth of 200,000-plus over the last six months overshadows the limited negative data we see. Consumers seem to be playing it relatively safe with regard to credit, which bodes well for the durability of the expansion. Meanwhile, the lending environment is improving.
Click the following link to read the complete PDF: GIM Market Commentary 08-18-2014
